As earbuds get smaller in size, it is difficult to place buttons or other user input controls on them. Furthermore, most button controls are counter-intuitive to the underlying features, are complex, and not intuitively related to the resulting system behavior. Many earbuds in the market today have phone and music player controls using a combination of buttons, taps, knobs, and the like. These approaches enable the desired controls, but they are difficult for consumers to fully use because the gestures are unrelated to the underlying control features and are therefore hard to remember. Also, it is difficult to put many buttons or controls on a small earbud.